Laminate composites armoring panels which consist of layers or stratums of ballistic fibers are known. In a common mode of fabrication of such armoring panels, multiple layers of thin fabric whose fibers consist of high strength polymers such as polyaramid fibers are stacked one atop another, and within an interstitially disposed hardened adhesive or resin matrix, such matrix interconnecting the fiber fabric layers and forming a hardened panel.
A drawback or deficiency in the performance of such laminate composite armoring panels arises and is observable upon events where a projectile such as a rifle fired bullet strikes the panel at or near the panel's lateral edge. Upon such panel edge strikes, the kinetic forces imposed by the bullet upon the panel tend, in addition to the bullet's normal stratum penetrating effect, to delaminate the panel's stratums, tearing a stratum inwardly and away from its immediately overlying stratum. Such delaminations imposed by bullets at the panel's edge undesirably markedly reduce the panel's ability to suppress and prevent penetration by the bullet.
The instant inventive armoring panel for resisting edge impact penetrations by ballistic projectiles solves or ameliorates the problems, defects, and deficiencies discussed above by specially configuring an armoring panel so that the panel's outermost stratum continues over the panel's edge to form the panel's innermost stratum, and so that the next underlying panel stratums similarly continue over the panel's edge to form inner stratums, such continuations of stratums advantageously creating delamination resisting tie sections.
In ballistic projectile suppressing performance of the instant inventive panel, the portions of such outermost/innermost stratums which span across and overlie the panel's lateral edge surfaces advantageously function as suspension ties which directly resist and cancel delaminating forces which may be imposed by the projectile against the panel's lateral edge.